Trona, Bloody Trona - A Synopsis (c) 2013By Paul Henry AbramThis is the story of a young radical lawyer in L.A. and his literary non-fiction tale of a labor strike which takes place in 1970 in Trona, CA, the Gateway to Death Valley. When 750 workers walked out on Kerr-McGee - a world-wide conglomerate that controls a little bit of everything and all of Trona, having paid its workers in company script until 1957 - they never dreamt they had bargained for being shot down by Wackenhut... More Description

Trona, Bloody Trona - A Synopsis (c) 2013By Paul Henry AbramThis is the story of a young radical lawyer in L.A. and his literary non-fiction tale of a labor strike which takes place in 1970 in Trona, CA, the Gateway to Death Valley. When 750 workers walked out on Kerr-McGee - a world-wide conglomerate that controls a little bit of everything and all of Trona, having paid its workers in company script until 1957 - they never dreamt they had bargained for being shot down by Wackenhut security police, or run down by both teamsters and scabs as they walked their legally sanctioned picket lines. They never foresaw their homes being invaded by force during the "Reign of Terror" - a night that saw Wackenhuts, sheriffs and FBI kick in doors, drag folks from their homes and cart off 54 persons to maximum security prison. I was later Shanghaied myself and taken in shackles to the District Attorney, 140 miles away, all of which strengthened both my resolve and that of the union members.At UCLA law school I was invited to speak under a banner prepared by students that read "Trona, Bloody Trona". The event led to hundreds of students coming to Trona from all over CA - they did research that enabled them to picket the plant on environmental and anti-war grounds. NBC newsman Mike Gavin did a news segment titled "Revolution in Microcosm" which the strike truly was. Everything taking place in the "real world" was taking place in Trona. Students brought the women's movement, the anti-war movement, environmentalism and bodies to town to re-enforce pickets and changed beliefs as to a worker-student alliance against the tyranny of capitalism.{{{{SPOILER ALERT - READ NO MORE - SPOILER ALERT!!}}}}In the end, after a long and brutal struggle which the strikers were actually winning on every level, they were sold out by ILWU President, Harry Bridges, who had bigger fish to fry. "We have not been beaten, we've been betrayed" one striker shouted in Bridges' face, and the revolution ended after four and one-half bitter months. I truly believe you will find this work to be on a level with Salt of the Earth and Grapes of Wrath.